Article trimming apparatus



H. W. LORMOR ARTICLE TRIMMING APPARATUS Aug. 19, 1941 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 5} 1940 I INVENTOR. Hemey 14/ A ole/v 02 BY W ATTORNE Y5 I H. w. LORMOR ARTJ ICLE TRIMMING APPARATUS Aug. .19, 1941.

Filed Feb. 5, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HENRY MA Ole/108 ATTORNEYS Aug. 19, 1941..

H. W. LQRMQR ARTICLE TRIMMING APPARATUS Filed Feb. s; 1940 SSheets-Sheet s flame m! A aenbe ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 19, 1941 ARTICLE TRIMMING APPARATUS Henr W. Lormor, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, 55-. signer to Willard Storage Battery Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of West Virginia Application February 5, 1940, Serial No. 317,288

6 Claims. (01. 164-47) This invention relates to die equipment for performing trimming or other operations on articles such as cast storage battery grids, and more particularly to improved means for positioning or locating the articles in the apparatus for the desired operations and enabling the apparatus to operate efficiently and accurately on similar articles of various different sizes or proportions. I

An objector my invention is to provide improved apparatus having a pair of cooperating dies for operating on articles of the type having a projecting lugs and in which one of the dies has article positioning stops adapted to be engaged by such lugsand arranged for variation of the spacing thereof for cooperation with articles of different proportions.

I Another object of my invention is to provide improved apparatus, of the type referred to, in which adiusting means having right and lefthand threads is operable for simultaneously causing said. stops to be moved toward or away from each other for varying the spacing thereof.

Still another object of my invention is to provide improved apparatus, of thetype mentioned, having article positioning stops movably mounted for variation of the spacing thereof by an adjusting means and in which a locking means is adapted to be applied to the adjusting means for retaining the stops at the desired spacing,

My invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and particularly set out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings illustrating one embodiment of my invention,

Fig. 1 is an elevational view, with parts in section, showing manufacturing equipment including a trimming press having my improved die apparatus therein;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view'of the trimming press, viewed as" indicated by line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing a pair of connected storage battery grids and representing '45 one form of article to be trimmed by my improved die apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the lower die of my improved apparatus, viewed as indicated by line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is-a longitudinal sectional view taken through the lower die and the stop adjusting means, as indicated by line 5--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken line 8-8 of Fig. 2 and further illustrating the ejector actuating means.

For the purpose of disclosing the construction and use of my improved die apparatus more in detail, further reference will now "be made to the accompanying drawings showing my invention embodied in apparatus for producing cast storage battery grids, but it should be understood, however. that my invention is not limited to the particular arrangement of apparatus and use herein described but may be embodied in other equipment and applied to various other uses.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings I show my improved-die apparatus embodied in a trimming press III, which in. turn forms a part of a grid casting and trimming apparatus of the type described more in detail in copending application,

Serial No. 296,381, filed September 25, .1939. As

shown in Fig. 1, this casting and-trimming apparatus includes a casting machine ll having cooperating mold members I2 and I3 for producing cast storage battery grids from molten lead or lead alloy and arranged to deliver thecast grids onto the chute It by which they are conducted to the trimming press 10. This casting and trimming apparatus also includes a stacking unit 15 for arranging and delivering the trimmed storage battery grids. This unit comprises a swinging stacking plate It adapted to receive the trimmed grids in succession from the trimming press ill andto transfer the'same onto a pair of laterally p ced rails ll.

As is described more in detail in said copending application, the trimming press I0 is arranged relative to the casting machine ll so that the grids discharged from the mold members l2 and I3 will travel by gravity down the chute H to the trimming press and after being trimmed will move by gravity out of the trimming press onto the swinging stacking plate IS.

-The feeding of the grids from the chute l4 into the trimming press is controlled by a swinging or oscillating feed stop l8 which is located at the lower end of the chute and is adapted to be raised and lowered in timed relation to the operations of the mold and trimming press.

Before proceeding with the detailed description of the trimming press Ill and my improved die apparatus used therein, I wish to explain that the articles to be operated upon, and which,

through the lower die, as indicated by line 6-6 of Fi Fig. 7 is a partial transverse sectional view taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 4 and illustrating the adjustment locking means: and

in this instance are cast storage battery grids, are of the type having projecting portions or lugs which can be used for positioning or locating the articles in the trimming press I0. In Fig. 3 I show a double storage battery grid 20 of the form discharged from the mold of the casting machine H and representing. the article to be operated upon by my improved dieapparatus. This storage battery gridhas a pair of Fig. 8 isa detail view taken as indicated by oppositely projecting lugs 2|, corresponding with metal or flash and may also have an extension portion or flash 23 to be trimmed from the opposite edge. The individual grids forming the double grid are preferably not out apart in the trimming press Ill but are left connected until a later point of their manufacture into storage battery plates. 4

The trimming press It! in which my improved die apparatus may be used may comprise a frame or bed 25 with which a top or crown 26 is connected by the laterally spaced tie rods 21 and a bolster 28 which is reciprocably movable between such bed and crown. The press Ill includes power means for actuating the movable bolster 28 and which may be in the form of a hydraulic cylinder 29 suitably connected with the bed 25 and a piston 30 operable in the cylinder and connected with the bolster by the piston rod 3|.

My improved die apparatus comprises in general a pair of cooperating upper and lower die members 32 and 33 which are connected respectively with the crown 26 and the movable bolster 28. The upper die member 32 may comprise a knife carrier 34 having a pair of knives or shear elements 35 mounted thereon and a pressure plate 35 disposed between the knives. The pres-- sure plate 36 is movable relative to the knife carrier 34 and is normally urged away from the latter by a plurality of compression members 31 which may bein the form of springs or rubber cushions.

The lower die member 33 may comprise a die carrier 38 having a pair of spaced shear elements 39 mounted thereon opposite the knives 35 of the upper die member and with which these knives have shearing engagement when the press is closed. The lower die member also includes a plate 40 (see Fig. 4) extending between the shear elements 39 and on which the grids 20 rest when they are received in the press for the trimming operation.

For locating the grids 20 in the press III in proper position to be operated upon by the cooperating shear elements of the upper and lower die members, I provide the lower die member with a pair of spaced stops 4| extending above the plate 49 and arranged to be engaged by the projecting lugs 2| of the grid. As shown in Fig. 4, these stops are located just inwardly of one of the shear elements 39 and such that the grid 20 will be positioned with the flash portions 22 and 23 thereof extending beyond the shear elements 39 so that they will be trimmed off by the knives 35 when the press closes. After the grid has been trimmed the press opens and the grid is delivered therefrom onto the swinging stacking plate I6. In discharging the trimmed grid from the press the lugs 2| are disengaged from the stops 4| and, for this purpose, I provide the lower die member with an ejector 42 which operates to lift one side of the grid to permit the lugs 2| to pass over the tops of the stops 4| as the grid slides out of the press by gravity.

To enable the die members to operate efliciently and accurately on battery grids of different sizes and which have their lugs 2| spaced different distances apart, I provide forshlfting of the stops 4| for variation of the lateral spacing thereof. Although the stops 4| may be constructed in various ways and various arrangements may be provided for obtaining the desired adjustment thereof, I show these stops in this instance as being in the form of posts or pinslla carried by bracket-like members 43. The bracket members 43 are in turn carried by arms 44 which are pinned or otherwise mounted on the outer ends of a pair of substantially aligned plungers 45. These plungers are slidable in bushings 49 which are mounted in a lateral opening or bore 41 of the plate 40. v

The inner or adjacent ends of the plungers 45 have screw portions or stems 48 formed thereon or connected therewith and which have right and left-hand threads; respectively. A nut member 49 is rotatably mounted in the bore 41 betweenthe bushings 46 and has openings 50 in its ends provided with right and left-hand threads, respectively, for screw engagement with the threaded stems 43 of the plungers 45. With the arrangement thus far described, it will be seen that by rotating the nut member 49, the plungers 45 will either be drawn toward each other or spread apart, depending upon the direction in which the nut member is rotated and the movement imparted to the plungers will also be imparted to the stops 4| carried by the arms 44 and bracket members 43.

Rotative movement may be imparted to the nut member 49 in any desired manner, such as by means of an actuating rod or shaft 5| having a handle or knurled knob 52 on the outer end thereof. The inner end of the rod 5| may have a non-circular portion 53 for driving engagement in a similarly shaped recess or opening 54 of the nut member. To accommodate the rod 5|, one of the plungers 45 may have an axial.

nut member and having a pair of arms 56 adapted to be drawn toward each other by the screw 51 into locking engagement with the nut member.

In the arrangement above described it will be seen that the bracket members 43 carrying the stops 4| extend in over-lying relation to the plate 40 and may slidably rest on the face thereof. During the operation of the lug adjusting means the plungers 45 will be held against rotation by the arms 44 which are prevented from swinging by the flat sided pins 58 extending therethrough. These pins also serve as a guiding means during the lateral adjustment of the spacing of the stops 4|.

For the assistance of the operator in adjusting the lateral "spacing of the stops 4|, I provide a visual indicating means which may comprise a pointer 59 projecting from one of the bracket members 43 and cooperating with indicia or graduations 6|! on the die carrier 38. During the adjusting of the lateral spacing of the stops 4| the operator can observe the movement of the pointer 59 relative to the graduations 60 and thereby accurately adjust the stops to the desired setting.

It may be desirable to shift or adjust the positract the ejector.

edges of the shear elements 39 and to permit this to be done I may providethe bracket members 43 with slots 6| so that by loosening the. screws G2, by which the bracket members are connected with the arms 44, the bracket members can be shifted inwardly or outwardly to correspondingly vary the position of the stops 4| relative to the outer edges of the shear elements 39.

The above-mentioned ejector 42 may be in the form of a plunger adapted to be projected above.

the surface of the plate 40 through an opening thereof located between the stops 4|. This ejector may be actuated in timed relation to the operation of the trimming press and any suitable actuating means may be provided for this purpose. In Figs. 2 and 8, I show a rock shaft 63 connected with the ejector 42 by means of the lever 64 and adapted to be rocked by the coaction of the latch levers 85 and 88 to project or re- From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings, it will now be readily understood that I have provided improved die apparatus which may be embodied in battery grid making machinery or various other kinds of equipment and which is adapted to accommodate different sizes of batterygrids or other articles of the type having projecting portions or loss.

It will be seen furthermore that I have provided simple and eillcient means for quickly and accurately adjusting the article postioning stops oi' the lower die member to varythe spacing thereof to suit the size of article to be operated upon. a i

While I have illustrated and described the improved die apparatus of my invention in more or less detail, it will be understood, of course, that I do not wish to be limited to the particular construction, arrangement and use of the apparatus herein described, but regard my invention as including such changes and modifications as do not constitute a departure from the spirit of the invention and the scope of vthe appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In apparatus of the character described, a

7 pair of cooperating relatively movable die members adapted to receive therebetween and operate on articles of the type having projecting lugs, one of said members having a pair of spaced article positioning stops adapted to be engaged by said lugs and mounted for lateral movement for variation of the spacing thereof for cooperation with articles of difierent proportions, and adjusting means having right and left-hand threads and operable for simultaneously moving said stops toward or away from each other.

2. In apparatus of the character described, a pair of cooperating relatively movable die members adapted to receivetherebetween and operate on articles of the type having projecting lugs one of said members having a pair of spaced article positioning stops adapted to be engaged by said lugs and mounted for lateral movement for variation of the spacing thereof for coopera-- having screw connection with said right and v left-hand threads and adapted to be rotated.

3. In apparatus of the character described, a pair of cooperating relatively movable die members adapted 'to receive therebetween and operate on articles of the type having projecting lugs, one of said members having a pair of spaced article positioning stops adapted to be engaged by said lugs and mounted for lateral movement for variation of the spacing thereof for cooperation with articles of different proportions, a pair of substantially aligned members connected with said stops and provided respectively with right and left-hand threads, another member having screw connection with said right and left-hand threads and adapted to be rotated, and locking means adapted to be applied to the last mentioned member to holdthe same against rotation.

4. In apparatus of the character described, a pair of cooperating relatively movable die members adapted to receive therebetween and operate on articles of the type having projecting lugs, one of said members having a pair of spaced article positioning stops adapted to be engaged by said lugs and mounted for lateral movement for variation of the spacing thereof for cooperation with articles of different proportions, a pair of substantially aligned members connected with said stops and provided respectively with right and left-hand threads, at least one oi said members being hollow, a rotatable nut member engaging the right and left-hand threads of said aligned members and having a tool-receivingportion, and an operating member adapted to be inserted through said one member for driving engagement with the tool-receiving portion of said nut member.

5. In trimming apparatus, a pair of relatively reciprocable upper and lower dies having cooperating shear elements, a pair of spaced stops on the lower die for locating articles to be trimmed relative to the shear elements thereof,

from said stops for all positions of adjustment of the latter, said ejecting means comprising a spring-retracted plunger and means for projecting the plunger upwardly through said lower die during the opening of said dies.

6. In apparatus of the character I die plate having a lateral bore therethrough, a pair of'plungers slidable in said bore and havi portions extending toward each other and provided respectively with right and left-hand threads, arms connected with the outer ends oi said plungers and arranged to extend along opposite edges of said plate, work positioning stops connected with said arms and extending inwardiy of the edges of said plate, means engaging said arms to prevent rotation of said plungers, anda nut member rotatable in said bore and having screw engagement with the threaded portions of said piungers. I

- HENRY W. LORMOR...

described, a 

